Bolt tightening ceremony at Locksbrook Road

News

Students and senior staff from Bath Spa University and Willmott Dixon celebrate reaching significant milestone in the refurbishment of the Grade II listed building.

With students due to start using the building in just under a year’s time, Bath Spa University’s Executive Dean of Bath School of Art and Design, Professor Anita Taylor, Vice-Chancellor Professor Sue Rigby, Chief Operating Officer, Neil Latham, and current student Gemma Connor joined representatives from the project’s construction company, Willmott Dixon, to sign one of the steel beams and conduct a ceremonial bolt tightening to mark the next phase of the transformation of the iconic former Herman Miller factory to provide new facilities for the Bath School of Art and Design.

With the original features being retained, the project has seen the careful restoration of over 300 exterior panels and the construction of a new mezzanine floor and rooftop pavilion.

Once complete, the restored building will provide a variety of flexible, stimulating and adaptable spaces for students and staff to learn and work, purposefully aligned to Herman Miller’s original and iconic ‘Bath Brief’ for the building.

Paul Lacy, Operations Manager of Willmott Dixon said: ‘With 36 weeks to go on the project, this was a great opportunity to celebrate with the University, our supply chain partners and consultants, the work we have completed together so far. As a grade II listed building, this has included the careful restoration of many of the original features, including the iconic façade.

“We have also extended our work into the local community, providing opportunities for 14 apprentices and delivering over 117 hours of work experience. Community engagement is an integral part of every project we undertake at Willmott Dixon and this will continue as move into the next phase of the project.’’

Professor Taylor commented: “It’s wonderful to be able to mark this milestone in the project, and we are very much looking forward to watching the building come back to life over the next few months. This is an important development in the history of the Bath School of Art and Design, and one that will help bring together our talented students and staff, and enhance the relationship we have with the community and local businesses. We look forward to welcoming the public to this exciting space and to reinforcing our relationship with the flourishing art and design community in the region.”

The construction will be completed in the summer of 2019, with students starting to use the building in September 2019.

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